Thursday, January 03, 2008

Where Have All The Hours Gone?

 You base the next purchase of your new vehicle on whether it will hold six kids, six sticks, and six hockey bags.

 You know the location of every hockey store within a 400 mile radius.

 You relate directions to places by the nearest arena.

 You know every single kid on every single team your child has ever played on... but you don't have a clue who his school mates are.

 You feel lost when you have a free weekend.

 Your spouse waits until you decide where to sit and then chooses a spot on the opposite side of the arena.

 You become a partner in a skate sharpening business to save money.

 You can justify complaining about someone who gives hundreds of hours of volunteer time to coach your son or daughter.

 You ground your kids for a week (except for hockey practice).

 You rationalize spending $159 on a Synergy for a 9 year-old but won't spend $5 on a birthday card for your wife.

 When someone asks how old your children are you respond, "I have a '94 and a '97."

 You have had to use a grandparent to take kid #1 to a tournament because Dad was in a different county with kid #2 at a tournament and Mom had kid #3 two counties away in a 3rd tournament - all in one weekend.

 Practices make up a very large part of your social life.

 You buy gloves according to how loud you can clap in them.

 You find yourself missing the parents of your child's team mates during the off-season.

 You refuse to make any plans with your friends until you check your kids' hockey schedule.

 You take out a home loan to pay for all the equipment and expenses.

 You plan the birth of your next child so he/she has a good "hockey birthday".

If I didn't know better I'd say you were speaking from experience. Our out-of-town tournament is in Rochester this year. We will be there next weekend. I think Emma is just as excited about staying in a hotel as she is about playing in the tournament.

BTW, your Christmas card was returned again. I thought for sure I had your address right this time. I guess not.